It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
